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How Wauconda honored former cop who died of cancer

The Wauconda Police Department has retired the badge number of a former officer who died last year after a long battle with cancer.

Officer Eric Schultz's widow, Crystal, and other relatives attended a badge-retirement ceremony staged during Tuesday's village board meeting.

Schultz's badge number, 113, will never be worn by another Wauconda officer. Police Chief Patrick Yost felt it was important to honor Schultz, who was 30 when he died in March 2014.

"(It is) a lasting tribute to a member of the department who always showed the utmost courage, determination and dedication," Yost told the Daily Herald. "That will be his for eternity."

Schultz, of Wauconda, joined the department in 2006. The following year, he was diagnosed with osteosarcoma, a type of bone cancer.

The cancer led to the amputation of Schultz's right foot, but he continued working with a prosthetic.

The cancer returned in early 2010, spreading to his right hip and lungs. Surgery and radiation treatments followed, but they were unsuccessful.

Schultz retired in 2013.

Had Schultz been able to beat the disease, Yost is confident he would've had a long and successful career in law enforcement.

"Eric was a gentleman who was somewhat singular in his life," Yost said. "He wanted in the worst way to be a police officer in his community."

Village Administrator Doug Maxeiner never met Schultz, but he'd heard stories about the young officer and called the badge retirement a fitting honor.

"Just to remind everybody what kind of a special guy he was," Maxeiner said. "We would like to see all of our officers and employees live up to that standard."

A plaque bearing a replica badge will hang at the police station.

Schultz's badge number is the second to be retired in the village. The first belonged to officer Frank J. Steiskal, who was killed by a drunken driver in 1948.

Steiskal's badge was retired earlier this year, also at Yost's urging.

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